Pal-Mac cheerleaders, moms question coaching hire

Two cheerleaders and two moms of cheerleaders objected to the hiring of Shelly Baker as varsity cheerleading coach for the fall of 2014 and the winter of 2014-15 at a recent Pal-Mac school board meeting

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By John Addyman Messenger Post

MPNnow

By John Addyman Messenger Post

Posted Jun. 10, 2014 at 1:24 PM

By John Addyman Messenger Post
Posted Jun. 10, 2014 at 1:24 PM

PALMYRA — Two cheerleaders and two moms of cheerleaders objected to the hiring of Shelly Baker as varsity cheerleading coach for the fall of 2014 and the winter of 2014-15 at Tuesday night's (June 3) meeting of the Pal-Mac school board.

All four women spoke up during the public comment segment of the meeting, before any board business items were accomplished. On the agenda for the evening was approval of all district coaches for the next school year.

Katelyn Holvey, a student, rose to ask the board not to approve Baker's hire. She was stopped by Board President Sharon Lang from using Baker's name in a public meeting. Lang said personnel matters were dealt with in executive session and instructed others who might want to discuss the same issue, to leave names out of their comments.

“Bring back the current JV coach,” Holvey asked the board.

Parent Hillary Jones was next. ‘I'm speaking on behalf of a dozen people here,” she told the board. She said there had been “ethical breaches” by Baker, who also said things said that had been an “emotional detriment” to the cheerleaders.

Megan Jackson, another student, said the coach from last year had been released with “no reasons given, and that was upsetting to a lot of us cheerleaders.”

Megan's mother, Carrie Jackson, told the board she “seconded” what her daughter had said.

After the meeting, mothers Jackson and Jones said other school districts had complained about Facebook postings allegedly made by Baker or allegedly encouraged by her, and directed at other cheerleading squads — particularly Pal-Mac's. They complained about unusual discipline tactics Baker used.

Schools Superintendent Robert Ike was asked about the comments made during the meeting and the allegations afterward by the parents.

“The district has a formal complaint process and chain of contact that are used and adhered to for all matters relating to school district operations,” he wrote. “Complaints that have been filed are investigated by the appropriate personnel. The statements made at the meeting of the Board of Education on June 4, 2014 are repeat comments and appropriate actions have been taken as warranted. Based on the district's investigation, some of the public comments made at last evening's meeting were not accurate or were embellished.”

Ike affirmed that the board did indeed hire Baker as the varsity cheerleading coach, with Marie Doyle appointed as jayvee coach and Shelly Carr as the volunteer coaching assistant. He also took pains to explain the selection and evaluation process.

Coach Baker was advised of what happened in the meeting and given an opportunity to comment.

“Only one of the students who spoke at the board meeting has ever been on a Pal-Mac team that I have coached,” she said. “I am a proud graduate of Pal-Mac and have been coaching cheerleading at a variety of levels for many years in our community. I am a mom of a Pal-Mac graduate and have two children currently in the district.

Page 2 of 2 - “As a Pal-Mac coach I am appreciative of the support and assistance that has been provided to me as a coach. Our community is fortunate to have such a strong focus on the best interest of the kids.

“I look forward to continuing in my role as the varsity cheerleading coach next year and working alongside two other incredible coaches,” she said. “As a coaching staff we are ready to have a positive season working together at all levels.”